High End Fishing Combo Buyer's Guide

The Holiday Buyer's Guide series continues! Today we explore our Top 10 favorite high end combos. If you're a fishing tackle junky this is the video for you!

We know that some anglers can't afford the highest level of bass fishing gear and that's perfectly okay. You don't NEED $1000+ combos to catch bass. However, if you've arrived at a place where you are able to do so, it absolutely makes it more fun! 

Matt and Tim's Top 10 favorite rod and reel combos are listed below. If you plan to make purchases please consider using the links provided to reach Tackle Warehouse before placing your order. We appreciate you supporting TacticalBassin while doing your holiday shopping!

Matt's Favorite Combos:

Rod- Dobyns 742 Champion Extreme HP Spinning
Reel- Shimano Stradic CI4 Spinning 2500

Rod- G Loomis NRX 852C JWR Casting
Reel- Shimano Aldebaran 50 HG

Rod- St. Croix Legend Elite 7'6" MH "Big Cranker"
Reel- Shimano Curado 200I

Rod- G Loomis GLX 894C JWR Casting
Reel- Shimano Metanium MGL

Rod- Dobyns 746 Champion Extreme HP
Reel- Shimano Curado 200I

 

Tim's Favorite Combos:

Rod- G Loomis Dropshot Spinning
Reel- Shimano Sustain Spinning 1000

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Are You Sure You're Using the "Right" Reel?

Do you use right or left-handed reels? Are you positive that you're using the correct reel? Have you ever considered flipping left-handed with a right-handed reel? Are we confusing you yet? 

Here's the arguement... most anglers that reel with their right hand have felt pressure to switch to left handed reels for flipping and pitching the last few years. Our question is, rather than switching reels, why don't you switch flipping hands? Watch the video and you might be amazed that a right-handed angler with a right-handed reel can still be in perfect position to set the hook on a bass as his lure enters the water. 

Since we're talking about reels we might as well put our 2 cents in on the actual "right" reel for the right job. Matt's list of favorite reels (In order of use)...

Curado 200: His go-to reel for most bass fishing applications. The reel is the perfect size to reach the drag control with your reel hand as shown in the video. 

Curado 70: Do you have a smaller hand or using finesse techniques? You need to try the 70, especially in the 8.2:1 gear ratio. You'll be glad you did! 

Calcutta 400B: This is the reel he does nearly all of his swimbait fishing with. Its a work horse! Matt says he's still using Calcuttas he bought more than a decade ago and they're still going strong. 

Bass fishing is always changing and trending. New reels are coming every year. They get lighter, faster, smoother, etc... but if you want work horses that last year after year its hard to beat  the Curado and Calcutta. We hope this video changes the way you think about flipping and pitching. You may not make the change but at least you'll have considered your options. Thanks for watching!

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How to Get the Most From a Baitcasting Reel

We received a request for a video on how to adjust a baitcasting reels to get the best performance. Neither Tim nor Matt are reel mechanics but Tacticalbassin is all about helping anglers improve their fishing. This week these two fishermen will show you exactly how we adjust our personal reels when its time to hit the water.

As always, Tim and Matt rarely agree so instead of pretending, we're showing you the reels we actually use on a daily basis. For Tim, that means a Revo STX Gen 3, and for Matt, that's a Shimano Curado.

This video shows how we adjust both Shimano and Abu Garcia Reels without going into all the technical details. This isn't a reel breakdown by a reel technician, its a real world video of what each of us do to our personal equipment when we get a new reel and want it to perform at its best.

We hope this video helps! We know its not the video most expect to see, and I'm sure a reel tech or two will shake their heads but this is how the two of us fish our equipment year after year and it has stood the test of time.

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Understanding Reels and Gear Ratios

Fishing equipment is getting more expensive every year so understanding what you need before making a purchase is very important. Purchasing the right rod comes down to choosing a model you like but reels require more details. Most quality reels are offered in several different gear ratios so choosing the speed that meets your needs is critical.

After getting multiple requests for a video about what gear ratios we use for different techniques, Matt finally sat down in front of the camera to give a brief explanation of his preferences.

Matt keeps it pretty simple. As you'll see in the video, he only uses three ratios, and really, could get by with two. His specific reel preferences  for each speed are:

5:1 ratio: Shimano Curado or Calcutta

6:1 ratio: Shimano Curado or Caenan

7:1 Ratio: Shimano Curado or Lews BB-1 Pro

 

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